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It is January 1st again. A new year and a new set of resolutions for many of us. For those who profess to walk with Christ, often the resolution is made to “read through the whole entire Bible this year!” It is a good resolution but I am going to suggest a different one. The one I would suggest is “Remember the Word of the Lord this year!”

To Remember implies knowing.

Now to be able to remember something, it is apparent that you will need to know it. You cannot remember something that you never knew. So in this blog post I want to encourage you to “Remember the Word of the Lord”, knowing that it will require you to actually read it to accomplish that task. However, it is more important that you remember it than that you read it. If you read it only and then do not remember it, you have gained little and may have lost more than you gained.

Here are 4 reasons why you should Remember the Word of the Lord.

The Word of the Lord instructs us.

God’s Word instructs us on what we should do. It gives us examples of good and bad so that we can learn what to do and what NOT to do. It instructs us in perspectives that the world might not share but which God says are good.

Romans 15:4 ASV For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.

Acts 20:35 ESV In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and rememberthe words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

The Word of the Lord is forever.

God’s word will last forever. It is not going to go away. Philosophies and civilizations will come and go but God’s word is going to endure. The people building the tower of Babel (Genesis 11) wanted to make a name for themselves…an enduring legacy. They are no more but God’s word is still around

Isaiah 40:8 ESV The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Those who forget God’s Word encounter great sadness when they remember.

If we ever learned it, we don’t really “forget”, we simply ignore or bury that voice of conscience so that we may continue on whatever wrong path we find ourselves. Take Peter for example, his third denial as Luke records it goes like this.

Luke 22:60-62 ESV But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. (61) And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” (62) And he went out and wept bitterly.

Peter was so sure of himself. He would never deny Jesus. Yet, when he uttered that third and final denial, before he went out and wept bitterly….He remembered the saying of the Lord. He remembered the Word of God.

How truly sad it is for us to commit sin and THEN remember God’s word.

Remembering God’s Word brings us blessings.

One of the blessings in remembering the Word of God is that it brings protection from sin.

Psalms 119:11 ESV I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Jesus must have taken David’s psalm to heart because in each of the temptations Matthew records in chapter 4, Jesus quotes from the Scriptures, specifically, the book of Deuteronomy: “It is written…” He answers Satan’s temptations with God’s Word and resists each one. We can too.

Another blessing in remembering the Word of the Lord (or “not forgetting”) is it helps us to continue on and endure.

Hebrews 12:3-6 ESV Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (4) In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (5) And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. (6) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

There are many passages the deal with the need to remember what God has spoken. These are just a few that I hope will cause us to realize that it is not just reading the Bible that is important but that it is also remembering the Words of God.